Times staff report

Brothers Bar & Grill, one of the newest additions to St. Cloud’s Fifth Avenue dining options, opened this spring.

The restaurant’s décor is pretty hip; walls are covered with antique metal signs, and the huge bar area in the middle of the floor is draped with televisions. A wooden statue of Jack Daniels (decked in St. Cloud State gear) greets guests. There is outdoor seating, but it was hot the day the reviewers visited, so we opted for air conditioning.

Random items on the menu are tagged with a “#1,” indicating fan favorites. Items such as jumbo pretzel sticks, cheeseburger sliders and the buffalo chicken sandwich are among the rated. The gator balls are listed as “A MUST TRY,” and our server said Brothers is famous for them.

“Everyone wants to try them,” he said.

We ordered them “to go,” and they were a hit among our co-workers, but it’s hard to go wrong with bacon-wrapped, cheese-and-jalapeño-stuffed deep-fried chicken, right?

One reviewer was very happy to see vegetarian options beyond salads. Brothers offers a veggie burger — a black bean patty with standard burger toppings, and a Wisconsin grilled cheese sandwich.

Grilled cheese is usually only seen on kids menus, but no child could finish this sandwich. Buttery, toasty and gooey, the grilled cheese has American and cheddar cheeses melted between two huge pieces of thick, crisp sourdough bread. The portion was so big it ended up being lunch and dinner, but that’s okay, because who doesn’t like a two-fer?

The fried egg sandwich (three large slices of sourdough, two fried eggs and piles of bacon) was enough meal for two — two people or two meals. The amount of bread is a bit overwhelming, and fried eggs that were over-medium instead of over-hard would improve the experience.

The sandwiches came with kettle chips that didn’t have a lot of flavor.

Service was fast, and our server was friendly and attentive.

The restaurant also offers Nathan’s Famous hot dogs with 20 different toppings. There is a small selection of salads (only four), but the variety is amazing. And there are 14 appetizer choices.